Grand Slam of Darts 2024: Luke Littler crowned champion in sensationally-quick fashion after 16-3 victory over Martin Lukeman….read more
Grand Slam of Darts 2024: Luke Littler crowned champion in sensationally-quick fashion after 16-3 victory over Martin Lukeman….read more
Luke Littler wins Grand Slam of Darts on debut to secure first major TV ranking title; watch the World Darts Championship, starting on Sunday December 15 with every dart live on Sky Sports Darts through to the final on Friday January 3
Watch how Luke Littler won 15 legs in a row in the final of the Grand Slam Of Darts
Luke Littler stormed to a 16-3 victory over Martin Lukeman to be crowned Grand Slam of Darts champion.
Lukeman won the first two legs on Sunday night in Wolverhampton, but Littler spectacularly reeled off 15 legs in a row to storm to victory and claim his first major TV ranking title in his first full year on the PDC circuit.
The result earned him £150,000 in prize money and also sees the 17-year-old climb to number five in the PDC Order of Merit and become installed as the favourite for the World Darts Championship, which starts next month.
Grand Slam of Darts final – as it happened!
Full results from Grand Slam of Darts 2024
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After falling 2-0 behind, Littler hit back with two breaks of throw, a brilliant 124 checkout and an 11-dart leg giving him a 3-2 lead, racking up an average of over 110 in the opening session.
Luke Littler hit a sublime 124 checkout in the final of the Grand Slam of Darts against Martin Lukeman
With the 17-year-old taking eight legs on the spin to go 8-2 up, and 180s flying in for fun, Lukeman was not given a look-in and had work to do to try and get back into the contest.
As ‘there is only one Luke Littler’ rang around Wolverhampton, Littler checked out 100 on D10 and then pinned D12 to go 10-2 in the lead, tops then putting him five legs away from a rapid win.
With the breaks of throw and treble-hitting continuing to come, Littler was one leg away from victory after taking 15 legs in a row. He hit single 12 to leave 170, but couldn’t take it out and Lukeman took advantage to stop the rot and bring the score to 15-3, the crowd cheering him on as he ironically celebrated.
Martin Lukeman milked the applause as he won a leg after losing 15 in a row to Luke Littler in the Grand Slam of Darts final
However, it was only one leg later that Littler pinned D6 and finished off a sensational campaign with the Eric Bristow Trophy.
Littler hit a total of 60 180s across the tournament, which is a new record in the Grand Slam, and it is his 10th tournament win on his first year as a professional – something only Phil Taylor, Michael van Gerwen, and Peter Wright have done before.
Luke Littler said he’ll be celebrating winning the Grand Slam of Darts by going home and playing on his Xbox
“I was very happy with my performance. The best feeling was when all the confetti came out. This is what we play for,” Littler told Sky Sports.
“The World Championship changed me and changed my performance. Now the months have gone on and I’m getting used to it all. I’m going to have to get used to it for a very long time.
“This is one of the ones I wanted to win. My major record isn’t the best, but it’s OK now. I wanted to come here and go deep. It’s even better now I’ve done it. It shows I’m still here.
“How will I celebrate? Go home, play on the Xbox for a bit…”
“I knew coming into the tournament, if I do get my hands on the trophy, which is a long way away, I’ll be up to number five in the world… number five in the space of ten months,” Littler added.
“There’s still another two more ranking tournaments to go, so hopefully I can go a bit higher than five.”
Martin Lukeman said he was hoping Luke Littler would lose to Gary Anderson in the semi-final to give him a slight chance of winning in the Grand Slam of Darts final
“Oh, he’s just different gravy,” added Lukeman.
“That’s why I was just hoping Luke would go out. I was like, Gary Anderson, I might have a slight chance, but he’s brilliant ain’t he?
“He’s done great for the PDC, done great for the sport, all the new fans, sponsorships… the best thing was putting him into the Premier League this year. Best thing they could have ever done
“I wish him the best and his family. Absolutely, good kids. Carry on playing FIFA, boy!
“I’ll tell you, I’ll catch up with you!”
Grand Slam of Darts: Finals day results
Final: Luke Littler 16-3 Martin Lukeman
Semi-final 1: Mickey Mansell 12-16 Martin Lukeman
Semi-final 2: Luke Littler 16-15 Gary Anderson
What happened in the semi-finals?
Littler made it through to the final after an all-time classic match against Gary Anderson, Littler winning 16-15 in a dramatic last-leg shootout.
Watch the best moments from Luke Littler and Gary Anderson’s epic clash in the Grand Slam of Darts semi-final
It was a tense encounter at first between the two-time world champion and Littler, with the game nicely poised at 6-4, both players hitting lovely 124 checkouts.
However, the second session saw Anderson in his prime, with huge 164 and 142 finishes giving him an 8-7 advantage against the ‘Nuke’ as the ‘Flying Scotsman’ secured four legs on the spin.
Gary Anderson and Luke Littler exchange 124 checkouts in their semi-final of the Grand Slam of Darts
Anderson then made it seven legs on the bounce for an 11-8 lead as he averaged over 112 in a brilliant spell, the 53-year-old heading in at the final break 12-8 up and with the finish line in sight.
That didn’t faze Littler though, who came back to within a leg and finally found the break of throw he was after in the 28th leg to bring the scores square at 14-14 apiece, battling then to a final-leg decider.
He then started to hit maximums for fun and after reducing 121 to 24, he hit D12 to book his spot in the final on debut, increasing Anderson’s 17-year wait for a Grand Slam title after an epic battle.
Lukeman made it through to the final after a 16-12 victory over Mickey Mansell.
Martin Lukeman seals victory over Mickey Mansell to reach the Grand Slam of Darts final
The ‘Smash’ found a crucial 122 checkout to set the battle alight and after some crucial breaks of throw, took an unassailable 14-10 lead.
Mansell battled back and held his throw well, but Lukeman averaged 110 in the final session and made it count, pinning D8 to send himself through to the biggest match of his career and becoming the first Tour card holder qualifier to make the Grand Slam final.
The next live darts on Sky Sports is the World Darts Championship, which starts on Sunday December 15 with every match live on Sky Sports Darts through to the final on Friday January 3. Stream darts and more live with no contract on a Month or Day membership on NOW.